By Johannes Gerloff
When people wander through world history, they carry with them what is precious to them, what constitutes "God" for them. That is why there are so many important places, so many "sanctuaries," worldwide today. With the God of Israel, it is the opposite. He founded Zion, chose Jerusalem, to establish a touchstone, a universally valid standard. This holds true even though this city lacks everything that makes a place significant—as the Swabian Conrad Schick observed in the mid-19th century.
“The Lord loves the gates of Zion” (Psalm 87:2a). This choice of words underscores God’s enduring, absolutely reliable love for this city. It defies rational understanding. Right up to the last book of the New Testament, Jerusalem remains simply “the beloved city.”.
The Midrash Tehilim recounts Rabbi Yochanan's interpretation of Psalm 87. He foresees how "the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring precious stones and pearls to place them at the gates of Jerusalem." One of his students mocks this. In the ensuing discussion, the precious stones and the city's glittering wealth are linked to the reign of the Messiah King, "before whom silver and gold are like dust.".
In Revelation 21, the seer John (Hebrew "Yochanan") describes the new Jerusalem, which descends from heaven by God, like a bride adorned for her husband. In Jerusalem, the glory of the one, true, living God, the "Shekhinah," is present. John lacks the words to describe what he sees. Twelve gates are twelve pearls.
What's interesting for us is this: The penultimate chapter of the Christian Bible describes the names of the twelve tribes of Israel engraved on the gates of Jerusalem. Gentiles bring their wealth and experience healing. The God of the Hebrews refuses to be adapted to vastly different cultures and ultimately distorted. He draws those who love Him to Himself and shapes them according to His nature in the place He loves.
This article first appeared in our newspaper "Israelaktuell", issue 124. You can order the newspaper free of charge here: https://csi-aktuell.de/israelaktuell.
